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Maxims I Would Like To Inspire In The Young (At Heart)
As many others do, I look out over our society. I see plenty of things I like, but I also see plenty of things going wrong. I see us not living up to our full potential. I’ve thought about some of the patterns of thinking and conduct that hold us back. The causes of some…
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Manifestations of Fear
We have the word “fear” in the English language. It’s both a verb and a noun. It seems like a simple word, and yet it encompasses many different emotions with many different nuances. Today, I’d like to pick it apart a bit and remark on some of these different manifestations of fear, with both examples…
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Observations On Friendship In Dating
The world of romance has never been an easy one for us superheroes, but I feel like I strike out more than most. I’m like Spider-Man without a Mary Jane. Or like Cyclops without…no…let’s not even go there. I do manage to get dates with women. They just don’t tend to lead anywhere other than…
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Faith Doesn’t Necessarily Bring Peace
There seems to be some common sentiment we hear sometimes, articulated in different ways. It often comes down to something like “know Jesus, know peace”. Lots of faith traditions seem to push this sort of idea, that once you embrace God, all your worries will melt away, as though a meerkat and a warthog just…
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Strawberry Chicken
I’ve noticed that sometimes, gardening is a bit like a game of chicken. You know the kind. Two people in cars barrel towards each other, or perhaps towards a cliff. Whoever hits the breaks first is the “chicken”. If they both fly off the cliff or end up in a fiery explosion, apparently they both…
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Being Non-Judgemental Is Essential To Really Connecting With Someone
Imagine that you’re talking with someone, and you really get the sense that they’re judging you. That they’re looking down on you. How would that make you feel? Defensive? If nothing else, you’re not likely to be very open to sharing anything with the person. That’s exactly how other people can feel if they think…
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We Need Tuneups Too
If you own a car, you know how it goes. It starts making loud noises, will barely start, or flat out breaks down, and you take it the mechanic. They fix it, hit you with a massive bill, and you’re back to driving. However, if you’re really taking care of your car, you also take…
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In Praise of the Smartwatch
Several months ago, I decided to get a smartwatch. So far, I’ve been astonished by how much benefit I’m getting from it. It started out mostly as a simple curiosity about my heart rate. I had purchased a secondhand exercise bike, one of the spinning types. I got a good deal on it, but it…
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Susanna and Reputation vs. Honor
Reputation is a funny thing. If you think about it, while we refer to it as “one’s reputation”, it doesn’t really belong to anyone. It’s not really an aspect of oneself, so much as society’s view of them. A person can indirectly influence it, of course. There’s no shortage of examples of people ruining their…
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Change In The Plate
I was in church the other day, and a little something occurred to me. It was offering time, and there was this little girl going down the pew with the collection plate. I think, way back when, I probably did that a few times. Anyway, I noticed that as she was coming my way, her…